Surprise: Obama More Secretive Than Bush

Above the law

How's that whole transparency thing working out?

The government's use of legal exemptions to keep records secret rose during President Barack Obama's first year in office, despite promises of increased openness, an Associated Press review found.

The review of annual Freedom of Information Act reports filed by 17 major agencies found that overall, the use of nearly every one of the open-records law's nine exemptions to withhold information rose in fiscal year 2009, which ended last October.

Among the most frequently used exemptions: one that lets the government hold back records that detail its internal decision-making. Obama had directed agencies to stop using that exemption so frequently, but that directive appears to have been widely ignored.

Major agencies cited that exemption to refuse records at least 70,779 times during the 2009 budget year, compared with 47,395 times during President George W. Bush's final full budget year, according to annual FOIA reports filed by federal agencies. Obama was president for nine months in the 2009 period.

Well, that's just a mere 23,384 more refusals than under Bush. Nothing to get all worked up about. I just wish the media would stop harping on this.

Oh, they haven't?

Is it any wonder these people want to vote on massive pieces of legislation without letting anyone see it?

Laughably, Eric Holder claims the Justice Department is more open than ever. So why did he initially refuse to divulge the names of his hires who has worked for guests at Club Gitmo?

Describing the Justice Department's actions on FOIA on Monday at the start of Sunshine Week, when news organizations promote open government and freedom of information, Attorney General Eric Holder said his agency is making progress. He noted that Justice provided everything sought in a FOIA request in more than 1,000 more cases than it had the previous year.